--- title: Sports Illustrated Staff Debates NFL Take a Knee Protests description: The National Football League has found itself front and center in a free speech controversy. canonical: https://time.com/4955518/nfl-protests-trump-sports-illustrated/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-25T13:04:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:34:38.812Z article:section: Sports og:title: Watch Sports Illustrated's Staff Debate the NFL Protest Controversy og:description: Trump's comments fueled a politically charged weekend of football og:url: https://time.com/4955518/nfl-protests-trump-sports-illustrated/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c7161a7c67ec34f/6988df30ab6d77c7236afef4/gettyimages-853172280.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Kansas City Chiefs v Los Angeles Chargers og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Sports Illustrated's Staff Debate the NFL Protest Controversy twitter:description: Trump's comments fueled a politically charged weekend of football twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c7161a7c67ec34f/6988df30ab6d77c7236afef4/gettyimages-853172280.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Sports Illustrated's Staff Debate the NFL Protest Controversy by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Sep 25, 2017 1:04 PM UTC  CARSON, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Terrance Smith #48, Eric Fisher #72, Demetrius Harris #84, and Cameron Erving #75 of the Kansas City Chiefs is seen taking a knee before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at the StubHub Center on September 24, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) CARSON, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Terrance Smith #48, Eric Fisher #72, Demetrius Harris #84, and Cameron Erving #75 of the Kansas City Chiefs is seen taking a knee before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at the StubHub Center on September 24, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)Sean M. Haffey—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Sep 25, 2017 1:04 PM UTC The National Football League has found itself front and center in a free speech controversy after dozens of players engaged in on-field protests during the national anthem before Sunday’s games. The players’ protests came after President Donald Trump said Friday that team owners should fire athletes who kneel during the anthem. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired,'” Trump said. His comments added fuel to a fire that’s been burning up the sports world since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick last year began [taking a knee during the national anthem](http://time.com/4504014/colin-kaepernick-kneel/) to protest police brutality. After Kaepernick wasn’t picked up by any NFL team this season, some observers speculated that he had been blackballed over his political statement. This new round of on-field protests stands to amplify Kaepernick’s movement even if he’s not on the gridiron to join them directly. The controversy has spread beyond the NFL as well. Over the weekend, Trump disinvited the NBA champion Golden State Warriors from from visiting the White House, an honor traditionally given to championship sports teams. Protests, or the conversation about them, has also affected NASCAR, the MLB, the NHL, the WNBA and professional golf — seemingly putting to rest the idea that athletes should “stick to sports.” Watch the _Sports Illustrated_ team discuss and debate the ongoing NFL protests and President Donald Trump’s reaction live at 10 a.m. ET right here. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4955518/nfl-protests-trump-sports-illustrated/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4955518/nfl-protests-trump-sports-illustrated/"},"headline":"Watch Sports Illustrated's Staff Debate the NFL Protest Controversy","datePublished":"2017-09-25T13:04:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:34:38.812Z","description":"Trump's comments fueled a politically charged weekend of football","url":"https://time.com/4955518/nfl-protests-trump-sports-illustrated/","keywords":["NFL","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c7161a7c67ec34f/6988df30ab6d77c7236afef4/gettyimages-853172280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c7161a7c67ec34f/6988df30ab6d77c7236afef4/gettyimages-853172280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kansas City Chiefs v Los Angeles Chargers","caption":"Kansas City Chiefs v Los Angeles Chargers","creditText":"Sean M. 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